Better solution Todd? Someplaces need people like Mubarak, just like I would argue that Iraq probably needed Sadaam. Would you ignore Hitler because he was elected? Sad, but I am all for doing whatever it takes to provide security when needed.
Hopefully technology and expectations will allow true democracy to take place. World wide it seems to be happening. Could be exciting times. Just saw an article yesterday talking about the growth in China providing relief to us. I didn't have time to read the entire article but it seems they were arguing that as China's cost of living increases their goods and money will become more on par with us, making us more equal trading partners. Hopefully that will happen world wide within our life time.
Wasn't even talking about a solution, just noting that the great bastion of freedom and Democracy (that's us), doesn't actually give a $hit about Democracy, it's just a catch phrase we use to justify whatever we want to justify.
Ignore Hitler? So long as he stayed in his own country. Once he started fuckin around with his neighbors, now we have a different story. (Note that we didn't get involved in stopping Hitler until he started to affect our business...we didn't give one rip about what he was doing to Jews, Catholics, or pretty much anyone else).
We're either for Democracy, or we're not...there aren't any gray areas.
The fact of the matter is that we are not for Democracy...hell, we're barely for it here, much less somewhere else. We're for whatever makes us happier at the moment.
We'll take a brutal dictator who plays ball with us over ten democratically elected leaders who are loved by their people, but don't suck up to us.
Freedom, Democracy...blah, blah, blah...it's all about the money. Always has been, always will be.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just damned hypocritical, and if you don't think the people of Egypt know it as well or better than your average American, then you're fooling yourself...it would be refreshing for us to admit, just once, that our international relations have nothing whatsoever to do with human rights, Democracy, or even decency.
Fish on...
Todd
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